All 24.1 - A Shell of My Former Self
"Dad!" Virgil called and ran towards the group as they walked over the barren chapparal. "Dad, the fire's gone! Did'ja do it? Did'ja beat the Firehawk?" Victor's expression was anything but positive as his son ran over to him. "Why don't you ask Lucca?" he replied, his voice holding an odd edge to it. "But what about..." Virgil, having reached them, stopped and looked at his father curiously. "Where'd your hat go?" With a sharp sigh, he added, "I had to take it off earlier. It's just in my bag, and I forgot to put it back on." He ruffled Virgil's hair, but his expression was distant. "Lucca can tell you about it. I...I need to rest, for a bit." Virgil looked up at him and could see the agitation on Victor's face. With a slight look of sadness himself, he nodded and hugged his father's waist. "...You're ok, right?" he mumbled into his shirt. "It's fine. Don't worry. I'm just...tired. The day was hard on everyone." Virgil looked up to him as he spoke, then nodded and pulled away. Victor guided him towards the druid before turning and walking further away. It was late afternoon by this point; evening would soon be upon them, and they had no clear direction to follow next. They would undoubtedly camp here tonight. Virgil walked up to Lucca, looking trepidatious. "What happened?" he asked. "Oh, Virg...um..." The druid trailed off, his eyes and attention following the elder Erzebet as he walked away. A picture of concern and agaitation, it was a few moments before he pulled his attention back to the boy before him, "Lots...lots of stuff happened...it was a busy day...wasn't super great, to be honest, dude. There were All and some really lame jerks we used to know showed up and were lame and jerky and...yeah...not super great." With a soft sigh, his gaze finally returned to Virgil as well and he forced a smile, "But we won, so that's awesome, right? Were you good for Itzli while we were gone? He tell ya some good stories?" "Of course I was good," he said with a bit of a vague frown, not really paying close attention to the speaker. He looked over everyone, and it was easy to see that it wasn't only Lucca and Victor who were upset: Clover was obviously distraught over something; Cheko was sadly pulling on her ear; and Ryuji was talking seriously to the air, his magical ring connecting him to his far-distant wife. The remaining three men seemed no worse for wear, though Pierce and Cohen were absorbed in a seemingly-serious conversation; Cress was, for his part, still a wolf hybrid and wearing a rediculous outfit that incorporated a bit too much fur, and appeared to be looking for a snack while regaling Itzli of previous events. Virgil looked at them before turning back towards Lucca. "...If we keep winning, why is everyone always getting more sad?" Turning back, he continued, "We win everytime. We beat the monsters, or we get the treasure, and everytime we win. But everyone gets more and more sad. Are we really winning, if everyone's always feeling worse?" An almost pained look flitted across Lucca's face and he looked away. Casting his gaze to the sky, he took a deep breath and answered slowly, "Yeah, bud...we are really winning...but sometimes winning doesn't feel much better than losing, when you're fighting for everyone else. 'Cause we're winning for everyone, right? For all the people and creatures and everything that the All have hurt, for the whole world. But the All are really strong, and there's just a few of us, so we've gotta make sacrifices or get hurt to save everyone else, and it really kinda sucks sometimes. Really, really sucks." Dropping his gaze once more, he gave a heavy sigh, "...But it's what we have to do, even if it hurts us and makes us sad, right? Because everyone else and the rest of the world doesn't deserve to get messed up by the All, and we're the only ones who can fix it..." Virgil kept looking out, then sat down on the ground. He pulled his knees in, crossed his arms over top and rested his face in the nest they made. "...It's not fair," he said. "It's not fair that Dad and you and Clover and Cheko and Cress and Mr. Komatsu and Mr. Webber and the doctor all gotta be sad all the time." He sat still like that for a moment before muttering, "It's not fair, and it's stupid," before getting up and walking away without any further glances to Lucca, towards where Victor had gone. With a frown Lucca trailed after him, "Hey, where're ya goin'?" Virgil did not reply, but continued walking forwards. Pursing his lips, he continued, "Dude, let's not bug your dad right now, eh? He had a rough day. Come on..." "M'not bugging him!" Virgil said, more than a bit snappily. "Just cause I'm around doesn't mean I'm bugging people!" He paused, and his tone dropped dramatically as he added, "...M'not trying to bug anyone..." With greater purpose, he began to walk off faster. "Ooookay dude, take it easy..." Lucca held up his hands defensively, looking taken aback. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean it that way...I know you're not..." As he spoke, his steps faltered and came to a stop. His expression as he watched the boy go was one uncertainty and more than a little unease. After a few moments spent fretting, he followed after him once more. Virgil made his way quickly to where his father was sitting cross-legged, a bit aways from the others. Without pause or explanation, he wormed his way around and sat on Victor's legs, leaning up against him like a chair, earning a confused look and question of what he was doing. "Nothing," he replied bluntly, crossing his arms and looking into the middle distance. After a moment's pause, he added with a sullen, quiet tone, "I wanna do something, but I can't. M'not good enough yet." He paused before continuing, "But I'm gonna be. I'm gonna be the best at everything, and fix things when they go wrong, when no one else can. 'Cause it's not fair. It's not fair that only a couple people can fix stuff when it's wrong, and everyone else just makes 'em. Things go super wrong, and it makes the stories hard and mean and sad, and it makes the heroes sad too, an' it's not fair to them, that everyone else makes them do everything. I don't wanna make other people sad, 'cause I couldn't do hard stuff myself. So I'm gonna be a hero, not somebody whose gotta be saved." Victor looked down at the top of his son's head and asked, "...What did Lucca tell you, about today?" "Nothin'. There was an All, an' some mean people, but he didn't say who. Didn't even say why the fire disappeared...but I guess I didn't ask," he added with a shrug. Victor made a 'hmm' noise, sitting back slightly. Virgil leaned back with him, and the pair sat together, looking distant. They sat quietly for a very long time, until they were eventually called for dinner. ---- After tucking Virgil into bed, Victor left his tent, promising the boy that he'd come back when he was going to sleep. He walked out into the chapparal once more, stopping some distance away to sit on a rock and look up at the stars. He hadn't put his disguise back on, and the moonlight looked eerie on his colourless skin. It was quite some time before his solitude was encroached upon. Winding silently through the scrub, the familiar, smallish figure approached and took a seat on the ground next to his rock. After casting a brief, meaningful look at the other man, Lucca turned his attention to gaze out across the landscape and simply waited. Words would only be redundant; they both knew why he had come. It was Victor who broke the silence first. "What is the point?" he asked, almost rhetorically. "Of what?" The druid's eyes flicked back over at the sound of his voice. "What is the point of pretending? What is the point of lying only to myself? Of weakening myself, when the stakes are so high?" He continued to look up. "It is selfish." Lucca frowned slightly, answering slowly, "...I beg to differ." There was a long pause before he extrapolated, "I don't see how you're lying or pretending, personally. At all. That makes no sense. And either way, there is nothing selfish about it, anything but." "It is utterly selfish," he said, tone still thoughtful. "At this point, there is no denying or speculating on what I am. It is no longer a question, no longer a secret, no longer containable. The persona of Victor is threadbare, and pointless, and I am weaker for it, because there is no denying that I would have greater power, greater ability to defeat the All and whatever other foes stand against me, if I cast off the last remains of this shell." "No..." Lucca shook his head firmly, "No. Your reasoning is all flawed." Taking a deep breath, he sat back and looked up at the stars, his expression pained. "Like, I'll grant you maybe you would have more power if you went back to being who you were before, sure. Might make kicking asses a bit faster, a bit easier, sure. But there's so much more to life than that...you ''are so much more than that. And you are Victor. Not a pointless persona, not a shell, but a man...a wonderful father...one hell of a wicked fighter and adventurer...someone who means more than the world and everything in it to one silly fey-monster..." He sighed and looked away, closing his eyes, "There is nothing pointless about the person you are, nothing fake. Just because it was different in the past, and will be in the future, just because things have gone a bit screwy lately, does not make who you are now a lie." He fell silent for a long moment, chewing at his lip. "If you...go back to whoever you were...and I'm not even sure ''how the hell you'd go about that, but I ain't likin' the sounds of it, as it stands...but anyway, if you do that, what happens when the All are gone? This fight is important, so important...but it's temporary. If you throw away the man you are to fight them, what does that mean once it's over? Will we get our Victor back? I doubt it...So if not, will the Hell-Lord you once were be the same enough to wanna stick around? Could he even? Maybe. I'd like to think so, anyway...but what if that's not the case? What does that mean for you and Virgil and I? That's...it's...a scary proposition. I...don't wanna lose you..." He took another deep breath, swallowing hard, "And like..isn't that what we're fighting for''in the first place? Isn't that what makes all the shit that we've gone through worth it? The promise of things going back to normal when we're done, I mean? Of going back to our lives, all of us?" Victor sat silently, wind whistling over the craggy landscape. Eventually he offered quietly, "I readily agree to pay prices, so others won't; maybe it's because of that, that I rarely consider what my own value is. I forget that there ''is a life to go back to, because I so readily assume that I will lose it in my zeal to attain my goal. I don't consider my life, in any respect, as my reward. It is what I have to give. It is what I have to sacrifice. It is what I will pay with, not what I work to protect, because I am a small price to pay, to achieve my goals. I am a small price to pay, to protect Virgil. To protect you. To protect everyone else, the people who have no one to stand for them personally." He gave a melancholy sigh through his nose, "It sounds good, but in practice, it is not, and that is surely why I'm damned." The younger man shook his head again, his expression grave. "You are a higher price than I'm willing to pay." He murmered softly. "Not that it's my call...but still..." Sighing once more, he continued, "I mean...it's one thing, to make a sacrifice like that in, like, the context of a battle or whatever...when there is absolutely no other choice, things like that...but to do so in the off chance of just getting stronger...when you might not have to...when you very likely could already be strong enough...it just...it doesn't seem right to me." He dropped his gaze and fiddled with a blade of grass, "It doesn't seem fair. A 'reward' like that ain't worth that price." "It's no reward. It is an increased chance of success. It is the same as training, as learning, as obtaining better equipment. There is a cost: of effort, of money, of time, of more, and the more that is paid, the more strength you have when it's needed to win. I am...spendthrift, in this regard." He made a sad laughing sound, and added, "And Riast damn me, I'm teaching my idiot boy to do the same." At this, Lucca shot him a look that asked for begged for further explanation. Victor continued, "He is watching. Always watching, because I'm too stubborn to leave him somewhere safe. He is always surrounded by this, this tumult, this chaos, all of the steel and blood, so now it is normal for him, and he will always yearn for it. He will have power, all too much and much too quickly, especially if Gemini is correct and he has magic as well. He is learning all too well what I do and what I am, and Riast forbid he emulate me, but he will. He will because he is me, at the end of the day. He has my personality, and he is learning what I do and he will mimic it, with his even greater strength, and it's...sad. Because I want him to be better than me. A better...person than me. He wants to be better than me, in the way children do and I fear that...him trying to outdo me will make him so much the worse." He added, more quietly, "And may all of the gods prevent him from being worse than me." Lucca closed his eyes and rubbed at his face, "Victor...you are a crazy old man, you know that? Are you hearing yourself?" He looked up at him, a strange, sadly bemused expression on his face, "You aren't even that bad of a person...like, at all! You never have been. You're a million times more decent and level headed than half the 'good' people around. I mean lookit that bitch Julia! That's a terrible person right there. Or even fuckin Ryu. He can be a piece of work. But you? Yeah, not so much. There are far, far worse people that boy could take after and want to outdo. And yeah, he's watching and learning from his surroundings, but a lot of it is good stuff too! Compassion, integrity, teamwork, leadership, tolerance, selflessness...all sorts of shit like that, and most of it from you. You are not a fraction as bad of a guy as you seem to think; I don't know where the hell you keep coming up with this idea. If Virg turns out anything like you, it'll only be a good thing in my book. If he turns out better, he'll really be one hell of a guy." Looking over to Lucca and regarding him for a moment, Victor turned away and muttered towards the ground, "I am the sort of being who will not hesitate to cut down a helpless creature, and does so without regret. You give me far more credit than I am due." Turning up to look to the distance, he continued more clearly, "I am frightening, and cold to those I do not care about. I have little forgiveness, and less regret, and more ambition than is necessary. I lose sight of things, and let impulse control me when faced with my own achievement. These are truths that you shouldn't deny." He smiled slightly as he added, "But I whine. I mope, I worry and I mull over things I shouldn't. I know, if I bother to think about it, that I have positive qualities as well, but I forget those, it seems, in the wake of my fixation on the negative. I think...it's difficult for me to overcome my own self-perception. I am rigid, and fatalistic, when it comes to myself." Leaning back onto his hands, he added quietly, still smiling slightly, "Riast only knows how you tolerate me." Lucca felt something by his arm; the end of Victor's tail had wrapped about and gripped his shoulder. Reaching up, he placed his hand atop the spaded end and gave a brief, very gentle squeeze. "I don't 'tolerate' you, nitwit," Although his tone was a touch indignant, there was a softness to the druid's expression, and he offered a small smile as he added, " 'Tolerate' aint the right word at all, and you fucking well know it." Dropping his hand, he moved to rest his cheek against his shoulder, and the older man's tail. "And I do not give you more credit than you are due, thank you very much. I give you exactly the right amount." He gave a small sigh, "We all have our...less than great qualities, and no, I wont deny that you have yours too. But I don't think they're any worse than anyone else's. And they'' don't'' overshadow or cancel out your positive ones at all the way you seem convinced that they do. You're very unfair to yourself, you know." He fell silent for a few moments, gazing out across the landscape. When he continued, his voice was quiet, "Don't kick your ass over the shit with the firehawk, it was the right thing to do. It was the right way to do it. That thing was raining terror and destruction all over the countryside, and for what? It needed to be stopped. Especially with the All fucking things up at the same time. Doing so quickly, cleanly, and without waiting for it to wake up and get into an actual fight with the thing was the best way to go about it, I think, for the firehawk as well as us. I woulda done the same thing, if you hadn't. I just didn't think I could manage it as efficiently. I guess I shoulda said something...I'm sorry I didn't." "Don't apologize," he replied plainly. "Executing someone with no defense is not a pleasant task; I wouldn't have put it on someone else, even if they had offered, and I am not surprised that everyone balked. And it doesn't bother me, honestly. It did not put me in the best mood, to be sure, but I don't regret my decisions any. What bothers me is that it doesn't, that I don't regret killing more, and that I will continue killing, because I honestly see no reason to stop. As long as beings continue to threaten me or others around me with violence, I will return it to them in kind without hesitation or regret." He sighed, "It is, objectively, an evil thing to do. A macabre habit that I have no desire to quit, and bemoan teaching to my son. But, I honestly don't believe that non-violence will solve problems like psychotic fey and invading extraplanars, so, here I am, whining to myself for no purpose once again." His expression was inscrutable, not sad but thoughtful as he added, "Someone will always have to do evil to fix the things that have gone too wrong. They say that two wrongs do not make right, but there are certain wrongs that will not ever be solved by being peaceful or kind or forgiving. I gladly commit those evils, so that things can be made right again, and so that others do not have to suffer under the evil, or commit it themselves." He smiled slightly, "Virgil said earlier, that he didn't want others to be sad, because he couldn't do hard things. I wonder if he learned that, or if he would have grown into that belief regardless." Lucca was silent for a long time, offering only a slight shake of his head. After a while he sighed "I dunno, man...I just...I dunno. I mean, like...either way, it doesn't seem like a bad thing to me, doing the hard things to prevent suffering...it just...that seems like the right way to be. Even if the things you have to do are extreme or brutal...even if the solution for violence is equal violence...sometimes it's called for, it's warranted, in some cases it's the only solution. If that's supposed to be evil, or somehow wrong, then...I don't even know..." He shook his head once more, "I guess I never did get the whole 'good and evil' thing, though. Shit just don't make sense to me. Half the time shit that is supposedly 'good' seems downright fuckin' nasty, and shit that is supposed to be 'evil' honestly seems utterly legit and justified. It just...don't make sense," He made a face and rubbed at his forehead, looking like he had more to say. "It is a thin line, that everyone sees differently. Good for one is evil for another, and no one can rightly say who is correct. Hurting others, needless conflict, and holding yourself and your ideas, values and beliefs over others', that is what evil usually is: what the gods accept as evil. To be good is to choose peace, to lend aid, and to accept and promote others before oneself. But there are those who twist and corrupt the core of their morality, so as to be one while masquerading as the other, and it makes the distinction between them difficult. You can be an evil person doing good, a good person doing evil, and where the line is drawn between the person and their actions is contentious at best." Victor finished and looked towards Lucca, his expression inviting the druid to continue his thoughts. Sitting back slightly, Lucca looked up at the night sky. A small twisted frown played on his lips as he thought. "See, that's the thing...it's never clear what''makes'' someone good or evil, whether it's the actions or the intent. And obviously, it is supposed to be some combination of the two, but then what takes precedence in determining that? Like, if you do something super terrible, but for a really good reason, do you still rate as an evil person? As far as I've gathered, yes, but that seems stupid as fuck! Your intent was good, you were doing good, so why does the action that you had to take make you evil? And then you get 'good' people who come swooping in and are all 'I'ma off this guy just 'cause he reads 'evil' on my morality radar' or some shit, and, like, what the fuck is that noise? You're gonna kill someone who hasnt even done anything to merit it? Just because they're on the wrong team? How the fuck is that supposed to be good!? You're 'purging evil' or some shit, which I guess is supposed to be good, but by murdering a peaceful individual? Like, really? You know what I mean? The line is so fucking blurry, so fucking arbitrary...and yet people give it so much goddamn weight...and I guess that's the thing that pisses me off so fucking much! It makes no sense! If it's so murky, why in fuck do people have to get so nuts about it? I just...ugh!" He trailed off with a disgusted growl, "It's bullshit. And like, at the end of the day, why is one exalted and the other demonized so hard? Yes, 'good' things are nicer I suppose, but the world needs both to function, to stay balanced, to get everything done. I dunno. It's fucked." Victor considered this and eventually offered, "The problem with faint lines is that some people can claim to see them much more clearly than others. What is a mystery to you, is as plain as day to someone like Julia. She prevents evil creatures, things that on some level have proven that they will harm others, from conducting themselves that way in the future. It is not merciful, and it does not allow for repentance or mistake, but it is certainly a way to protect good and innocent people from potential threats and pain. It is, essentially, a good act, though undoubtedly a heavy-handed technique. Also, remember that, as you judge Julia, she does not come from a world of balance. She is a creature of absolutes, from an absolute plane. Law, balance, and beings changing from one idea to another are not the status quo of angels and devils. Only what is good and what is evil, and if something is, essentially, good, then that is all an angel needs. Most angels, anyway; I'm sure there exist some with differing alignments and beliefs as well." "I'm not just talking about Julia, she just happened to be the most blatant example of what I mean. So fine, she's a different creature, from a different plane, playing by different rules, I'll give her that. Still bullshit, but fine. But she ain't the only one that pulls shit like that, and it still don't make any of this crap any clearer to me. Like, again, how does something become essentially good or evil? Actions or intent? What carries more weight? And if the lines are so murky and fluctuant, how is it ever right to enforce them or cling to them in your judgements? Why is one 'better' than the other, if both have the potential to cause harm and suffering in equal measure? Who determines this shit? How is it that the suffering of an 'evil' creature often seems acceptable to 'good' ones? That is so fucking disgusting, and I see it time and again!" He heaved a sigh and shook his head yet again, "I'm sorry. It's not your job to answer bullshit like this. I'm not really asking you to, just rambling. The whole deal just seems so pointless, so utterly unfair to me. It's fucking frustrating as shit." Victor chuckled quietly, "With the amount I make you listen to my ramblings regarding philosophy and unanswerable questions, I'm certainly not going to begrudge you your turn." He looked consideringly for a moment, then answered, "It's because people would much rather be dealt with by 'good' people than 'evil'. Everyone wants to feel like they're being treated well, and in their favour. Good people have on some level proven they want what's best for others, so it makes sense that others would rather be around them, rather than someone who, when push comes to shove, is selfish. That is what, I believe, fuels Materia's exhaltation of good over evil, despite it being the plane of balance. Just because both are a reality, doesn't mean that one can't have a preference. Now, because it is a balance, then evil will always exist. It will never be something that risks elimination or requires protection, it will exist all the same. And so because it will always exist, and because it will always be the side people would less like to associate with, it will always be demonized..." he paused and chuckled. "See? Even the language around it agrees. Evil is to be demonized. Now, Materians like balance. They cling to the idea that for every action, there is an equal reaction. That is how it should be. Good people deserve good. Evil people deserve evil. That is balance, in a fundamental way. Individuals don't matter. Actions don't matter. Evil people deserve punishment, for being evil, and good people deserve reward, for being good. It is a fundamental conceit of Materia. I agree that it is shallow, and that there are many more factors that require consideration before one acts on that belief, but that is why I think it persists." "I guess that makes some sense, but I still don't dig it. It just doesn't feel right to me, to divorce the action or intent from the person in that way. To just declare someone to be one or the other irregardless, and to deserve punishment or reward based on that...that seems like the greater wrong to me." He shrugged slightly, falling silent in thought. A crooked smile crossed his face as he added, "I think, it's kinda funny, too, when you lay it out like that: People would rather associate with 'good' because they feel they themselves will be better off for it, which is self interest, and arguably selfish, which is...evil? " He gave a bemused snort, "I know it's not that simple, but still. But that's the balance doin' its thing I guess, all interwoven to its own designs; I'm sure it makes perfect sense to some being, somewhere." "I'd hope." Victor returned Lucca's grin and added, "Though I suppose it's not terribly heartening, that it apparently took three gods to cover the concept of law while the others all made due with one." Victor looked silently up at the stars for a while. Eventually, he broke the silence, "It bothers me that I am neither." Cocking his head, Lucca looked up at him questioningly. "Neither what?" "I am neither. Victor was always temporary, a single act in what I assume is my longer life, but I was content to play the part fully. It's broken now though. My costume is torn and my lines have been mixed with parts from another play altogether, and I'm not the same anymore. I'm not who I was a few months ago, and I can't be him any longer. But I'm still certainly not who I truly am, my former and future self that is undoubtedly more powerful but who knows what else. I can no longer be Victor, but still hesitant to be a devil entirely; I'm neither, not yet both, and it will bother me until I am." With a wistful look, he added, "I am a blatant metaphor for everyone who adventures." The younger man regarded him sadly for a long moment, eventually sighing and murmering, "I don't know what to tell you, old man...I really wish I did though. Being stuck between identities sucks. I feel for ya." Turning his gaze to the sky, his look was both thoughtful and uneasy. "Nothing to be done about it, really. Just, keep moving," he said, more to himself than the druid. With that, he partially stood up and slid down to the ground beside Lucca. He didn't pause or explain before pulling him over, hugging him as he looked out over the barren wilderness. Closing his eyes momentarily, Lucca leaned against him and wordlessly returned the embrace. After a few moments, Victor asked conversationally, mumbling into Lucca's hair, "I have to ask...why did you call me a lord? Earlier on, that is." He blinked and frowned thoughtfully for a moment, eventually offering with a slight shrug, "I 'unno, really. I guess it just came to mind and I said it without thinkin'? You know how I am, I ain't got no filter with words." He paused, and after a moment's more thought, added quietly, "I guess...between the fact that you're a devil, apparently were already an ascendant, and you've always just had that sorta way about you, my brain just decided that was a good word? I dunno, I didn't mean anything by it..." "It just seemed a curious choice of word, honestly. Strange coming from you, at the very least." Lucca could feel him chuckle lightly under him as he added, "Riast, I can't imagine how poorly that would end, putting me in charge of a country or something. What would I even do with it? I can barely manage the affairs of my son and myself, let alone everyone else's; the place would fall to anarchy while I stood wrapped up in my own issues. Heh, which I suppose is Pierce's exact problem." Lucca snorted at this, "Yeah, I suppose it might go that way, but I could totally see you pulling the exact opposite thing too; deciding that all of its issues were yours personally and micromanaging the hell out of it. Either way though, it'd be shenanigans, yeah." He finished with a chuckle of his own, lightly running his fingers through the other man's hair. "Good thing it's just me being a weirdo with my words...you of all people certainly don't need that kinda worry. Sheesh." "Tch, and there I'd be, walking into people's houses just to make sure everything was fine, and that my advisors weren't lying to me about it. Attending every meeting personally in case I missed something, going over every individual transaction and occurrence. I'd drive myself mad in a week, unless I found some way to be everywhere at once." He settled back, "I don't think I have to worry about that problem, at least." "I know, right?" He shook his head, smiling crookedly, "Good thing." He shifted slightly, rearranging himself to sit more comfortably against Victor. The pair sat, cuddled against each other for a while, looking at the stars. "We should get some sleep. It's late, and I'm sure we'll have a long day of riding, at least, tomorrow." He looked to Lucca, "I wonder if questions of our conduct will come back to either of us. Ryuji has certainly seen us by now, and though I don't see him bringing it up to anyone, excepting maybe his wife or Clover, I don't doubt others will be far behind him." Grinning slightly, he added, "No one but Virgil, or possibly the doctor, will direct their inquiries at me, or comments, in the case of the latter. I suppose Cress might question you." "Eh, fuck it, who cares?" Lucca replied indifferently with a lazy shrug, "It's none of anyone's damn business, except maybe Virgil's." With a snort and a smile, he tilted his head back to look up at the other man, "Let 'em see, they can think what they want. I'm sure some of 'em will have to get nosey eventually...It's just a matter of time. Cressy and the doc, for sure, at the very least. I might hear from Cheko too, possibly? Whatever, though. I certainly don't give a shit; I can't imagine that you do either, eh?" Victor only chuckled in response. He stood up and stretched as Lucca did the same. "Time for sleep, then," Victor said, beginning to walk away. His tail, however, wrapped up and along the back of Lucca's neck, pulling him along. The move earned a startled shiver from the younger man. "Hey!" He squawked, guesturing indignantly at the tail and giving it a gentle tug, "The hell is this nonsense supposed to be?!" In spite of his fussing, he wore a good natured grin and allowed himself to be pulled along willingly. "I thought you said it was sleep time!" "I did, and it is," he said, his tone serious but with a smirk playing about his lips. He continued to walk towards his tent, leading Lucca with his tail. The druid gave a small chuckle and a rolled eyes. "Oh yeah?" He dropped his voice as they got closer so as not to wake Virgil, flashing an impish grin as he said, "This don't look like'' my'' bed, last I checked." "Perish forbid. Your beds are always filled with crumbs and soil, and are usually much too far off the ground for my liking." At this, Lucca simply laughed, "I see how it is! I guess it's lucky for you I ain't as picky as you are, innit then?" "I suppose it is, though I shudder to think of someone having a marked preference for dirt and long falls." Moving the tent flap aside, he crawled into the tent, pulling in Lucca behind him. As they peeled off their outer clothes and lay down next to each other, Virgil curled up not too far away and sleeping soundly, Victor whispered into Lucca's ear, "You mean more than the world to me as well." He nuzzled the back of his ear lightly with his nose and added as he lay back, "The world best pray it doesn't make me choose." At this, the younger man blinked up at him, after a moment breaking into an odd little smile. Although he said nothing, the look in his eyes spoke volumes. Scooting closer, he tangled himself around Victor, hugging him tightly. "Likewise, old man." He murmered, the words barely audible as he nuzzled into his neck, "Likewise." Category:Advent of the All